Mary!

Doesn’t mean the sixth month, you know, January till June. It is talking about the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy. It was in her sixth month that an angel was sent by God to a city of Galilee, that place was named Nazareth, to a virgin promised to a man whose name was Joseph of the house of David. That virgin’s name was Mary. And having come in, the angel said to her, rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women. But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind the manner of salutation. 

What manner this salutation should be. And the angel said to her, fear not Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a son, and you will call his name Jesus. He will be great, and he will be called the Son of the Highest. And the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end. And Mary said to the angel, how can this be since I do not know a man? And the angel answered and said to her, the Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you, and therefore also that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. 

Now indeed Elizabeth, your relative, also has conceived a son in her old age, and is now the sixth month for her who was barren. For with God nothing shall be impossible. And then Mary said, behold that made servant of the Lord, let it be to me according to your word. And the angel departed from her. This poor gal, we don’t know exactly how old she was, but I’ve done a lot of research, and she could have been 13 years of age. Now in Canadian American society that age is, no, no can do. But we need to remember that this is an arranged marriage, and so it won’t be consummated for some time. A minimum of a year will pass before there’s any consummation of a marriage. But 13, 14, 15 year old girls had been chosen. Some young fellow might have said to his dad, I like that one, the one that was at the disco the other night. I like that one. Could you set it up? And the dad would go to the house of a young lady that a young man sort of favored. 

Now that young man, he would have been crossing the line if he’d even approached her. He wouldn’t go anywhere near her. He’d pretend like he didn’t know she was there. 

And so it would be an arrangement that would last at least a year. But from the moment that those two families got together and made an arrangement, they established what the Word of God calls a covenant. It’s a promise. Each family promised the other family we agreed to this situation. And that covenant time, that meeting, was consummated with Welch’s grape juice. Well actually, it was, dare I say it publicly, wine. 

Don’t throw anything at me. They drank wine in those days. There’s something gone wrong with it today, I guess. I don’t know. But we’ll leave that alone. I’m already in trouble, I know. So the meal, they had a meal. There would be two witnesses there, by the way, who would be totally neutral. They would have been invited by one party or the other to say, we want you there. So it’s not just the two families coming together and coming to an agreement, but there would be witnesses there. And we don’t know that anything was signed, because the drinking of the cup and whatever words passed between them, and you have to know there would have been biblical words that would have been mentioned as well. That was a man’s word, was his character, his dignity, and it was a done deal. 

Mary and Joseph had already gone through that. So she was now promised to him. If a young woman were to be discovered having any kind of a relationship with a man during this time, she could have been stoned to death if she had had an intimate relationship with another man. She could have been stoned. But the man to whom the promise was made, the proposed groom, he would have the option of divorcing her or putting away, putting the situation away very quietly. It was his choice. And we’re not going to read this portion, but it’s found in the Gospel according to Matthew. He records for us that Joseph was befuddled. He didn’t know how to handle this. 

And an angel visited him and said, don’t be afraid. And so a wonderful message was given to him. It’s so interesting to note that throughout Scripture, things like this occurred other times where the Lord sent a messenger, usually an angel, and would indicate something wonderful is about to take place. Samson’s mom and dad knew that she was going to give birth long before because a message was given. We have Hannah in 1 Samuel as she wanted a child, but she was barren. And for a woman to be barren, having no children, that was a point of disgrace just because that’s what you’re for. 

You’re supposed to bear children. But there was another disgraceful thing. If she could not bear a man-child, because that meant that that family’s going forward was going to be hindered because there was going to be no son to carry on. So there’s a lot of responsibility on the woman in this situation. So Joseph at any rate is settled down and he’s going to be okay. He’s going to be okay. Now it’s so interesting that when she became afraid, he said, fear not, you have found favor with God. That’s an interesting, that’s an interesting, interesting word that came forward to her that gave her comfort. Don’t be afraid. 

You, of all the young women and of Israel, you are blessed. What does that mean? You are now the object of God’s very special affection. You, you are special in God’s eyes. She needed to hear that because she’s got to go and tell her mom and dad, I’m going to have a baby. She had to go to the man that she was betrothed to, promised to, and she had to say to him, you’re not going to believe this, but an angel came to my house. And he’s thinking, well, that’s all right. 

And he told me I’m going to get pregnant. That might be okay as long as we understand what that means. And then she says, but it’s going to be without a man. And when I give birth, that will be the end of my virginity when a baby passes from my body. That’s a fearful thing. What must have gone through poor Joseph’s mind, the trouble that he was experiencing, but as mentioned, an angel came and comforted him. But it’s so interesting that the Lord says to Mary in the announcement to her, you are highly favored. You were the object of God’s benevolence. You are, you’re wonderful. 

He loves you. You need to know that he was not saying you’re sinlessly perfect. There was a Pope back in the 1800s. His name was, I wrote it down so I wouldn’t forget, Pius. He was a Pius Pope. And it happened in 1854 where he had to declare to his church that he knew something that they didn’t know. And that was that Mary was sinless. He was comparing her to Eve because we know that Eve, when she came into this world, was sinless. She was perfect. 

She was perfect. She was sinless until she breached the covenant, the agreement between the Lord and this new couple. So when Pope Pius was saying, Mary, the Immaculate Conception, and in effect, if it wasn’t that day, soon all, he went forward and said, and by the way, she’s the Queen of Heaven. He was raising her up above Eve, suggesting, poor Eve, she was born perfect, but she flunked. But Mary, she never failed. I want to let you know that we’re aware that that is in the books in some special library somewhere in Rome. 

But the idea of her experiencing an Immaculate Conception is not in this book. So you need to know when you hear about the Immaculate Conception, it’s as valuable as a Greek myth. It’s just not correct. I’m not trashing another church. I’m not trashing anything. It’s just important that we understand what this book says and what it means. And anything outside of this book can and should be challenged. It’s so interesting to me that when the angel is telling her, the angel says, and oh, by the way, your cousin Elizabeth, you know how barren she’s been? And you know what pain that has been to her heart? She also has had a visitation from the Lord. Now, her pregnancy was going to be normal, although extremely abnormal. 

She was past the childbearing age. And we know if we dig in deep enough that at that time Zacharias was the priest. And he was very busy in the temple in those days. And it says, it says that when his service had been completed, accomplished, that means his role in the temple. He would go from home, he would live in the temple, he would eat his meals in the temple, and he would serve the Lord in the temple until his time slot had been completed. And it says that when his time was finished in the temple, he went home, and within days Elizabeth became pregnant. 

And here the angel is telling Mary, assuming she had not checked her email, he’s saying, you need to know something. Your cousin Elizabeth. Are you sitting down, Mary? Are you ready for this? Your cousin also was with child. That’s miraculous. Why did the angel tell Mary that? Because Mary needed to hear that. Let’s read on. In verse 39, same chapter. Now Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country quickly to a city of Judah. Now they’re trying to call the city of Judah Palestine. That irritates me. Entered into the house of Zacharias, the priest, and she greets Elizabeth. And it happened when Elizabeth heard her voice. 

And it says heard her greeting. So it’s not just she heard the tone of a familiar voice, her cousin’s voice, but she heard the greeting. We don’t know what Mary said, but it really, it really touched Elizabeth’s heart. She could have come through the door and shouted, I got the news. This is a miracle. Whatever she said to Elizabeth stunned her in a beautiful fashion. 

And it did something else. Jesus, only just conceived, is worshiped in this chapter. You say, Pastor Dave, Pastor Dave. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. It’s there. It says, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, John leaped in her womb. Pastor, that’s not, that’s not worship. No, the piano and the guitar were silent, and there was no room at the altar for John the Baptist. He did the best he could. He did three catapults on a Lord-constructed trampoline. He went berserk. Six months, you ladies would know.

I don’t know how much a baby, how long. I don’t know, but I think it was a little more than an embryo. I think it pretty well startled Elizabeth. First, she gets this emotional rush, and then John starts getting excited. He’s already, he’s already starting to fulfill his role, because he is to announce the coming Messiah, and to say, he’s here, he’s here, he’s here. I love this. I love this. I hope you’re reading your Bible. It’s an exciting, it’s an exciting thing to read divine truth. 

Say amen, or I’m good till 5 p.m. 5 p.m. You’re happy to sit here all day. You know that I can go over time. You know that. You’re testing me. The baby leaped in the womb, and then Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Ghost, the Holy Spirit. Do you know how many people before this had been filled? This terminology, filled with the Holy Spirit, is pretty close to being a New Testament phenomena. David danced before the Lord, the Spirit of God touched him. Was he filled? I’d like to think probably, but it’s actually announced here. You see, this is the New Testament era. 

In the Old Testament, the only people who really experienced the Holy Spirit were prophets and priests and kings, and their experience with the Holy Spirit was very, very tight. It was almost like Zacharias, his period of time that he was responsible in the temple to serve the Lord. So every prophet, every priest, every king experienced the touch of the Holy Spirit, but was only for a time, but in this case, and only them. 

But now, a woman who’s not a prophet, she’s not a priest, she’s not a king, she experiences the dynamics of the Holy Spirit. And John the Baptist in the womb, I was gonna say tomb, John the Baptist in the womb, his responsibility, follow me now, follow me now, when he records for us, when he retells his story, I know that it was John the Baptist who pointed at Jesus and said, behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. But there’s another text where John the Baptist tells his personal experience, and it was this. 

He said, I didn’t know who he was. Well, he did, because he was a cousin, remember? Second cousin, Elizabeth, Mary, Jesus, John. He’s not saying, I never knew who John was, he’s saying, he’s not saying, I didn’t know who Jesus was, he’s saying, I knew who he was, but I didn’t know who he was. And he said, I was looking for a baptizer. A baptizer was looking for a baptizer. Can you handle this? A baptizer is looking for a baptizer. Every time that John the Baptist baptizes somebody, I hear him, when I read it in here, he’s apologizing. 

He’s saying, now look, now look, I am here on behalf of somebody else. I can only baptize you with water, but one who probably could be standing among you here today, he will have a greater baptism. I’m looking for the baptism, the baptizer in the Holy Spirit. He said, I’m looking for a baptizer. And those who heard it understood quite correctly, although it was a mysterious sentence that he was saying. John was saying, I’m not looking for one who will come down here in the water and baptize in water. I’m looking for one who will, watch this, you watch this. In so many churches, baptismal is, they dip their fingers in a little bit of holy water, and they, I’ve never seen it, but I think they flick their fingers. 

I don’t know how they do it. I don’t know. That baby is not immersed, for a good reason, for a good reason. They might drown, right? Baptize is a Greek word in the New Testament that means totally immersed, totally immersed. I’m looking for one, I’m baptizing you totally immersed in water. I’ve got to tell you that this isn’t in my notes. Well, the good thing is I don’t have any notes today. That’s not the good news. But we visited a church that I pastored back in the 80s, just last Sunday. 

And it was quite an event. They were celebrating the fact that the church is now ten million dollars in debt. Okay, beautiful building. I pastored there for several years. And, but they’re growing. They had to run three services last Sunday to accommodate the crowds. And they had added something like an extra 500 seats to the sanctuary. Just put bubbles in my heart. I was so excited. But somebody came up and said, you baptized me here, you know, you baptized me right there, you baptized me there. And then somebody else came along and said, I remember when you did this. I mean, it was a nice thing. 

We were not the focus of the day. We were quiet little guests. I never got to say anything. I didn’t want to say anything. But it was a wonderful event. And we felt so honored. But I was reminded of the fact that I baptized a lady. I don’t remember anything more about her. I just know that, that it was in that baptismal situation. If you’re a visitor here, you might know about this. But we immersed totally. In fact, I hold people down until I see bubbles. I want to make sure they’re totally done. Not medium rare, like full. And so I do recall that there was this lady. 

I don’t remember anything more about her. But I remember how she came down the steps into the baptismal. And, hello pastor. I said, hello there. And what’s your name again? And she told me. And I said, I said this little thing that we say to them, you know, you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, etc. And she said, yes, yes, yes, yes. And as I invited her to put her hands like this, as I took a hold of her, which is my responsibility, she said, remember, don’t get my hair wet. She had gone. This was going to be her debut. Hello? She’s going to be on the platform with the pastor. Nobody else is going to be there. 

It’s going to be him and me. We’re in there. And all the cameras, and the lights, and the microphone. She is the focus of attention. So she had gone and got herself a beehive bob job. It was something. It was piled up quite high. And as I remember that, she’d put some sparkles in it, you know. So she looked like, kind of like a walking Christmas tree. And so as I took a hold of her, she said, you don’t get my hair wet. So I put her down. I think it was the devil made me do it. 

I put her down, but I stopped, and she’s staring at me like, and as I put her, she goes, hallelujah! I put my hand right on her face, right down underneath. Because baptism is immersion. It’s, it’s no time for a little dabble, do you, if you remember the Bill, the, you know, the Brylcreem commercial. 

You know, fully immersed. I, I, I’m walking with Jesus about this much. I got enough religion for me, thanks. There are men who, who, who apologize to their children. Say, Daddy, how come you don’t go to church? You know your mother goes to church four nights a week. She’s got enough religion for all of us. I’ve just got this much. I’ve just got this much. No, no, no, no. 

It’s total immersion. It’s total commitment to Jesus. You can’t, when we’re dealing with, with, with a nasty thing that’s growing in your body, you always want to hear the surgeon when he’s finished. Not like the surgeon who worked on me, made a, made a clay mold of my ear, saying I may have to cut it all off before we’re done. Because that’s a story. And it’s still here, hello? This is actually a tin ear. 

So, most of you know that story. But, but it, but, but some of you have had surgery, and the thing that you were excited and, and anticipating was that when you come to, the doctor would say, we got it all. Isn’t that right? When, when somebody is committing their life to Jesus, their sin nature in there, a little dabble won’t do you. 

You want the Holy Spirit to, to report to heaven. Say, we got it all. Total immersion, because you get buried with Christ. Not laid outside the tomb. Not halfway in the tomb. All the way in the tomb. And the tomb is, is, is sealed. And when Jesus rose again from the dead, we were, the Bible says, we were with Him. We were in Him. To walk in newness of life. So the Baptist said, I’m here to teach and preach, and prepare the way for he who will immerse you in mercy, in grace, in forgiveness, in justification, and sanctification. The word of God is coming among you. 

Mary, Mary was receiving a message. She was receiving a message that she was going to be the earthly carrier of God’s promise for humanity. And that’s why the Lord said, you are highly favored. I said to somebody out in the lobby this morning, how you doing? I said, I’m nervous. They said, I don’t understand that. Nobody thinks I would ever get it, I get nervous. 

What, what’s that all about? It’s something that I learned when I was a very, very young, young man, graduated from college and being baptized in the ministry, that an old preacher that I regarded very, very much, highly, he said to me as I was about to speak to his congregation, well, David, are you okay? We’re in his study. The people are in the audience waiting. And he said, how are you? And I said, sir, I’m as nervous as a cat. He said, good for you. I’ll never forget that. He said, good for you. And he said, don’t ever lose that. The day you lose that, you are depending upon your person. So coming and standing in this pulpit to me, I don’t expect you to fully grapple with this thing. But this is a responsibility that I hold in the highest degree. And I’m humbled by the opportunity to do so. I am humbled by it. You’re going to be impregnated by the Holy Spirit, and you’re going to bring forth the Redeemer of mankind. And she says, I’m afraid. Was she afraid for just, I believe that it shook her to her foundation. 

She was saying, me? Yeah, she’s a virgin. But had she ever told a little white lie? Had she ever been disciplined by mom or by dad? Was she perfect? No. And I believe that it stunned her. And even after the Lord had said, the angel said, don’t be afraid. Don’t be afraid. He was essentially saying, Mary, it’s not about you. You see, you are highly favored. In other words, I know how little you feel. But the favor of God makes you like this. You know, if she was sinless, if she was perfection, if that message had come to Eve before she fell, she would have said, you know, God, what is that? I’m going to do, I’m going to use you. She would have said, well, that’s fine. Because you see, she was sinless. 

She was perfect. Her conscience was clear. There was no guilt. But this little girl had a sense of unworthiness. And she’d heard from the Scriptures that she was taught by a mom and dad. There are non-righteous. No, not one. So when she’s told, you are going to be the vehicle. You are going to be the gentle, warm mama. He will suckle at your breast. She became fearful. How can it be me? And the angel says, be encouraged, sweetheart. 

You’re not too little to be used by God. And what does she do? She hears, and Elizabeth too. Something’s going on with her. And it says, she took off to visit with Elizabeth. She doesn’t mention her experience with talking to her mama. Said, you’ve got to tell daddy this. That’s left out. We don’t know what happened in their house. It had to be a frightening thing for mom and dad. How are we going to tell the community? Who looks at Mary’s little extension, say, oh, this is only the sixth month of betrothal. You must be very disturbed about your daughter. Oh, it’s okay. 

An angel came. Oh yeah, you’ve been getting into the wine, or maybe something a little stronger. How were they going to, how were they going to handle this? And going to the synagogue, would they, would they be, would they be kind of downgraded? What, what would society do to, this thing rocked their little world, folks. 

It rocked their little world. So Mary, where does she go? She goes to Elizabeth. Why? Because the angel kind of prompted her and said, by the way, Elizabeth is going through something as well. In her old age, she didn’t go and get her hair done once a week. She went twice and said, make sure my nails are okay. You know, she, she was up there. And now, she’s with child. So Mary rushes to that house. Why? She needed somebody who could relate. And that’s the essence of my message, really, this morning. Is that there’s something beautiful when God’s people communicate with God’s people. It’s called fellowship. 

In Jesus speaks the word, and Paul, the epistles, pick it up as well. Bear one another’s burdens. Uplift one another. Teach one another. Be patient with one another. Love one another. Forgive one another. One another ministries is the calling of the church. And this is another reason why it says, do not forsake the assembling of yourselves together, because the offerings will be depleted. When we come together, there’s something begins to work in a beautiful fashion as person with person. Oftentimes when I’ve been with some of you, I’ve left your home. I’ve left, I’ve left the situation where we’re visiting or whatever. And the words came to my mind of two men on a road to Emmaus after Jesus had been with them and Jesus left. 

And they said, the one said, was your heart on fire when the master was teaching us the word? Yeah. Did not our hearts burn within us? They were encouraged on the road to Emmaus. But then I believe they encouraged each other. Did your heart burn? My heart burned. Good. I’m not a poached egg. You felt the same thing I did. There’s something about coming together, encouraging one another, blessing one another. I mentioned this recently to someone from our church who invited April and I to come in and enjoy a lovely evening of food. We sang some of the Christmas carols and there was a little bit of levity that happened there as well. Some very wonderful humor at everyone’s expense. 

And then there were some stories that kind of came forward of God intervening in people’s lives. And before we left, I felt really impressed to say to the host and hostess, do you really know what happened here tonight? You made such a contribution. These are now words I don’t remember, but I said to them, do you realize the contribution that you made to our hearts tonight? You prepared a meal. 

That’s fine. It was good. And I’m still trying to get rid of those leftover calories. It wasn’t the food. It wasn’t the warmth of their home. It was the fact that we got together. Forsake not the assembling of the, of yourselves as the manner of some is, or some people say, I like to fly solo. I’m private. I don’t like to get close to people. You don’t want to get close to people. You’re weird. I’m sorry. You are weird. And probably you don’t know this, but you scare people with your isolation. Did not our hearts burn within us? And when Mary walks in the house and says something, Elizabeth’s response is she’s filled with the Holy spirit. 

And what does she say? She spoke out and said with a loud voice, blessed are you among women. Remember that word, blessed. I’ve talked about it so much. The word blessed isn’t like have a nice day. Enjoy your coffee. I’m looking at a woman who’s abounding in blessing. I’m looking at a woman who’s the very object of God’s affection. I’m looking at somebody who’s so humble, not perfect, but so humble. Look at the words. How to listen. How did Elizabeth even know? Watch this. Blessed are you among women? Not because you’re pregnant.

Blessed is the fruit of your womb. God bless your little baby. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. Powerful is the fruit that’s in your womb. What’s in your womb is going to change history. She’s lifting up there. Little humble Mary that was scared to death, I believe in coming and encountering Elizabeth was lifted up higher than anything that ever took off from Cape Canaveral. It satisfied her heart. It satisfied her to know the angel said it. My parents are trying to believe it. Joseph is trying to believe it. But here’s Elizabeth in another town, how many miles away? And she speaks a powerful word. 

How could she know? It’s a prophetic word that satisfies Mary’s heart. Oh, so much so. Blessed are you among women. Blessed is the fruit of your womb. And then Elizabeth takes a place of humility and she says, but why? Why is this granted to me? I’m the first person you’re coming to outside your tight family. You made a journey, a treacherous journey perhaps. Uber wasn’t established yet. She had to get there on a smelly donkey or she had to walk. We don’t know.

Blessed are you among women. Blessed is the fruit of your womb. But why this blessing on me that the mother of the creator, the mother of the Redeemer, the mother of the Lord has come to me. This visit by Mary elevated Elizabeth also up a new place in her heart and her life. She realizes I’m part of something bigger than me. This is incredible that I’m a part of it. 

For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting hit my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy. My baby not yet born when he heard your voice, it brought him joy. Slow down when you’re reading the word. There’s not an idle word in this book. Every word is pregnant with wonderful divine truth. Blessed is she who believed. Elizabeth is saying, blessed is this woman who’s standing before me. This woman is blessed because she believed what the angel said. Whew. 

For there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord. I want to cry. This is elegant. These are elegant words. Think about this. If Mary, can you see that from the internet? That’s troubling. Somebody upstairs saying, it’s okay. The people in Vancouver can’t see that. Well, I’ll just tell you what I did. I just dropped the Bible, but that’s okay. I got 10 more in my office. Where was I? Oh, I’ll jump. 

Oh, I know where I was. Thank you. Thank you. You helped me. I’m glad. I’m glad you recalled. 

Think about if Mary had not gone to the house of Elizabeth, would Elizabeth ever experienced the fullness of the Holy Spirit. If Mary had not gone, Elizabeth would have missed out on a great moment. If Mary had not gone, she would have continued to live in almost like a little bubble of isolation, afraid to go into the marketplace. 

There she is pregnant. Can you believe it? Poor Joseph and Mary. But now, now with this prophetic word over her, she can go with confidence because she knows something that nobody else knows. And she won’t be arrogant about it. She’ll be still humble little Mary. I haven’t got my Bible in front of me, but I remember something. As soon as Elizabeth was finished saying what she said, we have a passage in the scripture that’s called the Magnificat. It’s Mary’s response. And I’ve only got a moment to speak of this.

But when I discovered this verse in the 1970s, when I was sort of like a frustrated pastor, worship leader, in those days, we didn’t have all these people. The pastor did everything, but that’s just the way we did it back then. If you didn’t have somebody that you could, well, you know how it was if you were wearing back in those days. And so I was the pastor, but I was the worship leader. And as I was leading worship on Sundays, I felt tormented. I felt stretched. 

Because in the selection of the songs, I love it when Al leads us in one. I forget how it goes. Every praise, every praise is to our God. You know that one there? I love that. I love it when he plays it, everybody’s just like, it’s magnetic, isn’t it? Every praise. But then I realized that in heaven, the angels are not going, every praise. That’s very soulish. Right? We love it because, hey, it kind of gets you going. It’s soulish. 

It’s good for the mind. You’re thinking good thoughts. It’s good for the emotion. 

It kind of rouses you up. And it’s good for your will. That’s the soul. Intellect, emotion, and will. Your whole soul gets generated. But then there was this something that was tormenting me. And I thought, but the angels aren’t doing that. If they could weep, they’re weeping. They’re saying, holy, holy, holy Lord God Almighty. And I would lead in a song like that. But in my little list, I had us going back to a fast song, then to a slow song. And then I began to realize that the fast songs were all about me, predominantly. 

How good I am. Oh, I thank you, Lord. I won’t have to cross Jordan alone. It’s joy unspeakable and full of that. That’s my song. That’s all about me, me, me. But then I started recognizing that the angels never sing about me. The angels cry, holy, holy Lord God Almighty. They worship him. They adore him. And the elders cast their crowns before him. And they lay before him as dead. 

And I’m thinking, how do we accomplish that in our church? And then as I started reading what Mary said, she said these words, my soul does magnify the Lord. My soul magnifies the Lord. That means my soul is boasting of the Lord. Isn’t the Lord good? Isn’t the Lord holy? Isn’t he magnificent? Look what he’s done for us. It’s boasting of the greatness of God. My soul is using a magnifying glass to try and comprehend what the apostle said, the height and the depth and the breadth of his love.

That’s what the soul tries to do. The soul, my soul magnifies, my soul boasts of what the Lord has done. Then she uses another word. She says, but my spirit, you see, it’s two compartments within her. My soul is doing this, but my spirit is doing something else. For me, it was a revelation. Songs that are soulish. It’s like the flight of the eagle. The eagle works. It’s called labor. And it spends energy. And it leaps off of its perch. And it mounts higher and higher. My soul does magnify the Lord. Remember his goodness.

Remember his power. Remember what he said. Remember his prophecies. Remember, remember, remember. And suddenly the eagle senses what’s called a thermal, which is a wind that rises to the heights beyond what we could ever know. And that eagle keeps on turning her head one way or the other, looking for that thermal. And suddenly she feels the little feathers on the back of her neck or whatever that hair is like. And she feels it lifting up. She says in her head, there it is. And suddenly she stops doing this and she cruises. And for an hour up there, effortlessly without using any energy, hello, she doesn’t have to say, oh God, oh God, oh God. But now she cruises effortlessly on that thermal. 

My soul does magnify, magnify. Remembering his goodness. Remembering what the angel said. 

Oh God, oh God. And then my spirit is released. We used to sing this.  Set my spirit free, that I might worship Thee. Set my spirit free, that I might praise Thy name. Let all bondage go, and let deliverance flow. Set my spirit free to worship Thee. We sing two kinds of songs on this platform every Sunday. We sing songs that are about me. We sing songs about His goodness. I’m happy to sing those songs. Every praise. I love it. That helps me kind of get there. But when I’m in this service, whether you’re with me or not, I’m waiting. Every service I come into, I’m waiting. I’m looking for the thermal. And I tell you, when the thermal comes, oftentimes the volume begins to drop. No strong voices anywhere. It’s not time for you to prophesy. It’s not time for a message. 

We got the message, sweetie. We got the message. And now we’re in His presence. We’ve been set free. I love you, Lord. And I lift my voice to worship you. Oh, my King, take joy, my King, in what you hear. Let me be a sweet, sweet sound in your ear. She said, my soul rejoices in the deliverance of Moses. My soul rejoices in Daniel and the lion’s den. My soul rejoices in the prophecies. But above all of that, I love you. 

I don’t care about the Moses thing. I don’t care about all that stuff. That’s great. Take all of that away. I just want you, Lord. Mary taught me how to praise and worship. They’re different. Praise, hallelujah, glory, praise the Lord, and worship. Hallelujah, hallelujah. Mary, I know you’re not listening in today. I don’t even know why I said it that way. Let me start again. Mary is not listening in. I don’t think the saints in heaven are aware of what’s going down. I think they get reports like YouTube, something hopefully more reliable. 

YouTube is not reliable, I’m going to say it right now. I got messages last night that were involved in the third world war and there’s missiles taking off. I got those messages at two o’clock in the morning. Thank you, YouTube, for giving me fake news. Now you’re gone too. Where are we going to get our news? I guess we better forget about it. I guess the news is, hey Dodo Dave, the news is right here. Just get a hold of this. Hello? It said that Elizabeth said with a loud voice. 

Every once in a while I think I’m Elizabeth. Heavenly Father, thank you for these people that you love. Lord, every one of these people this morning is like a Mary in that every person in this room is the object of your affection. You’re thinking about me. You’re thinking about everyone in this place. You’re numbering my steps. You’re monitoring my thought life. You’re monitoring my motives. You’re monitoring what I’m afraid of and you’re monitoring what I think should bring me joy. And with all the junk that you might still find in my life, I’m still the object of your affection. 

How come I’m humbled by your mercy?

 I’m floored by your grace.